Jersey Regulator Confers Investment Business Licence To Elian As SEI Partnership Gets Under Way

Tom Burroughes

11 September 2015

Jersey’s financial regulator has granted an investment business licence to Elian Capital Services, an international provider of private wealth, corporate, capital, fund and due diligence services. Working with SEI, the US-headquartered financial services and tech firm, Elian is now offering what it calls an “integrated investment management programme”.

The investment management offering will be run out of the Jersey office.

SEI, with $262 billion in assets under management, will provide Elian Capital Services with a solution that combines SEI’s asset management capabilities, the SEI Wealth PlatformSM and investment operations into a comprehensive proposition.

“This partnership offers Elian's clients access to a proposition that is different from anything else on the market today. In short, it offers an institutional investment process that provides access to some of the world's best investment managers and includes manager research and selection, portfolio construction and asset allocation guidance, as well as the risk-management, transparency and oversight required by clients,” Nigel Brook-Walters, sales director for SEI’s Asset Management Distribution unit, said.

Elian, which launched in September 2014 following a management buyout from Ogier Group, employs 525 people across 11 offices in a number of regions. Earlier in September, Elian announced it had agreed terms to buy SFM Europe, a leading provider of corporate services with more than €1 trillion ($1.13 trillion) of assets under administration. The purchase of SFM Europe will increase Elian’s head count by 115, to 640 employees, significantly expanding the company’s European footprint and enhancing its corporate services and structured finance offering. On completion of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, SFM Europe will operate as a separate division of Elian.